Faster Than My Bullet
by PlathFan96
Summary: Takes place after the Season Five finale. Who blew up the division? Who killed McDonald? Most importantly, who does Marlo's baby belong to? Read as Sam and Andy keep themselves together after the events of Season Five.
1. Prologue

Faster Than My Bullet

Prologue

Andy tossed and turned, mumbling incoherently. Normally Sam wouldn't have noticed, not right away at least, but one of her movements had resulted in a kick to his thigh, jolting him from sleep.

"No, no please! Come back! Don't go, please!"

She was having a nightmare again. They had gotten more frequent since he got out of the hospital, and it was getting harder and harder to wake her from them.

"Andy," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Baby, you need to wake up. It's just a dream. It's time to wake up now."

Andy jerked awake, panting and sobbing feeling around the bed.

"Andy!" Sam's arms tightened around her. "You're okay. I'm right here. I've got you."

She collapsed into him, the sobs shaking her body against him.

"I've got you. I'm here." He repeated the words, holding her tight enough that she would have bruises in the morning, but he didn't dare loosen his grip. He was the only thing keeping her still right now, and still meant safe. Last week she had almost given herself a black eye from thrashing around.

"You were dead!" She sobbed. "You were bleeding out on the floor, and I couldn't stop it, and you died!"

That was the subject of most of her nightmares. If Sam wasn't dead it was Tommy or Traci, every once in a while it was Nick. Once it had even been Claire, although that one was pretty easy to calm her down from.

"It's over now. I'm right here, alive and well. Everything's okay now."

She nods against his _chest,_ but he knows she's still upset.

"Do you want some water?"

"No, I want you to stay exactly where you are."

"I'm not going anywhere." He chuckles, kissing the top of her head.

"I'm sorry I woke you." Andy mumbles a few minutes later.

"I'm not."

"I feel bad! You haven't gotten a full night's sleep in months!"

"Neither have you!" Sam countered.

"They're _my_ nightmares. You shouldn't have to deal with them."

"You're _my_ girlfriend. I want to deal with them. I'm all in, Andy. Nightmares, quirks, crazy cravings for ice cream at 9 AM and all."

Andy smiled, curling into him again.

"You're pretty great, you know that?"

"I've heard. Try and get some more sleep." He smiles, kissing her on the nose.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Why don't you just reset that thing!" Andy moaned as Sam shook his head and kissed her.

"We wake up every morning before it anyways!"

"If you keep staying," Sam rubs his nose against Andy's, "we're just not gonna need it anymore."

"I know I'm a total distraction." Andy chuckles. "I mean you rarely have time to shave, shower in the morning."

She grins as Sam covers her neck in kisses.

"Who needs to shave?" Sam replies. "I mean, I'd rock a mustache."

"Really?" Andy laughs. "Okay, you know what? You're your own person, fine. But wait until after the Commissioners Gala."

"Are you going to that?" Sam smiles

"No, no, no, no." Andy refutes.

"Yes, you are. That's so cute."

"WE are."

"Let me guess," he kisses her. "You bought a dress?"

"Of course I bought a dress. But it's what I bought for underneath the dress that you're going to want to see."

"That reminds me of something." He gets up.

"Oh ya?" Andy asks, propping herself up.

"I got something for ya." He grabs something off the dresser, before kneeling back on the bed and holding it out.

"What's that?" Andy asks, staring at the key between his fingers.

"What is that? It's a key." Sam tells her. "It's the key to my heart. It also happens to open the front door."

She pulls him towards her, re-attatching their lips before pulling away and smiling.

"No thanks."

"Huh?" Sam sits back surprised.

"I mean, next you're gonna be asking me to do your laundry and feed your cat," Andy explains as she climbs out of bed.

"I just thought it would be more... convenient." Sam supplies.

"Well, convenience is boring," Andy tells him as she throws his shirt on. "I am a stallion, and I can't be tamed." She slaps Sam's ass as she walks past him, making him raise an eyebrow.

"Stallions are boys," he tells her, not sure what else to say.

"Whatever. You know what I mean. I'm going to get us coffee."

He stares as she saunters out of the room, unsure as usual, what to make of the woman who has stolen his heart.

When Sam pulled up to the bomb site later that morning, he was relieved to see Andy standing with a medic, getting her hand wrapped.

"You alright, McNally?" He pulls her ponytail as he walks past and she smiles at him.

"I'm good."

When he gets inside the parking garage, Sam is immediately reminded of the restaurant bombing four years ago. He and Andy had been amongst the first responders. That scene had been far more gruesome than the one he was staring at now. He remembered the crying and the screaming from those trapped, those who had lost somebody. Thank God nobody was killed this time. Traci was filling him in on the background check when ETF came running out of the garage, with Oliver in the lead shouting orders.

"What the hell is going on?" Sam asked him as he ran past to his car.

"We got another one Sammy! This time there's casualties!"

From the corner of his eye, Sam saw Andy jumping into Dov's squad and speeding off after Oliver. He and Traci followed quickly.

Oliver called for a parade once they were done at the crime scene. He reported that the victim of the second bombing was the Aiden Kelly's second in command- one of the leaders of the Irish Mob. Peck stepped forward, putting up pictures of Russian Mob members. They were just waiting on the warrants when Andy walked into the detectives pen with McDonald's picture.

"Look into it," he told her as he followed the ETF guys out the door.

When he stood on the scene later that day, after McDonald had wired up Duncan, he found out that his son had been killed in the restaurant bombing. They were just getting into the scene when the car pulled up and she got out. Marlo Cruz was back. She looked good, he would admit that. Better than the last time he saw her, at least.

"I didn't know she was in intelligence. I thought she was taking time off," Andy said suddenly standing beside him.

"Apparently she's been back on the job a couple of months."

"You haven't spoken with her since, uh."

"I called her a few times, left a few messages just to check up. She didn't return any of my phone calls, so-"

"Oh, very kind of you." Andy smiled, turning to Marlo, who was walking towards them.

"Hey, Marlo." She greeted.

"McNally. Sam."

"Good to see you."

"Ya, you too. Good work. McDonald wasn't even on our radar until today. Now we're building a profile, figuring out motive."

"I would say probably revenge, maybe justice for his son's murder." Andy said pointedly.

"Ya, looks like that." Marlo smiled at her.

"So this guys got explosives and a vendetta and he's still out there." Sam sums up, trying to cut the tension.

"Ya, and we don't know where. So it looks like I'll be working with you guys for a while."

"So we'll be wrapping this case up quickly." She doesn't say it as a question, but a fact. Once she's walked away he lets out a deep breath, and puts his sunglasses back on. This was going to be a long case.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Andy didn't come over that night, despite his protests that he would be there soon. She did, however, bring him coffee the next morning.

"But you've already got one." She stopped short, staring at the cup in his hand.

"I brought him one," Marlo said walking down the steps to the house.

"Oh, thoughtful." Andy smiled. "I guess we were both thoughtful."

"SO while he was planning to blow up the city, at least he was able to keep up with the yard work," Sam admired, figuring anything would be better than an awkward stare down between his girlfriend and his ex. Then strolled away.

"So you worked all night?" Andy asked Marlo.

"Ya," she explained what they had found before walking away. "You know, I didn't plan to come back to fifteen." She said, turning back. "I'm an analyst, I take orders and go where they tell me. And you and Sam seem good. I'm here just to get the job done. That's it."

"I know," Andy said, trying to understand what Marlo was doing. "We're gonna catch this guy."

Marlo smiled and walked away, and Andy turned back to see Sam walking over to her again, now that it was safe in his mind.

"What's up?"

"I'm having deja vu of grade three. Me and this other girl, Lisa, had this huge crush on Jason Duffie. And we bring gum everyday. It was really competitive, and I can't tell you how much guilt I brought."

"That is NOT what is happening here," Sam assured her.

"I know. I'm gonna go back to the station now." She started walking away, but turned back when Sam spoke.

"I missed you last night," he smirked at her and she let out a deep breath.

"Please tell me that her being here isn't going to ruin our honeymoon phase. Because I really like it."

Sam took off his sunglasses and looked straight into her eyes, making sure she understood him clearly. "It is not going to kill our honeymoon phase. The honeymoon phase is not going to be over."

Andy didn't seem to completely believe him as she turned back to the street, handing Diaz the coffee she had brought for him.

Andy and Oliver brought Ted McDonald in later that afternoon, and were greeted with applause. They had gotten a menace off the street. Now it was Sam's job to make sure he couldn't kill or hurt anybody else. As he spoke to him, Sam found he understood the man. He thought he had almost gotten to where the bomb was when the Commissioner stepped in and brought it to a screeching halt. Sam cringed as he watched him break Ted's nose.

"We think Duncan may have been targeted, not because he's a cop, but because he's the commissioner's son." Traci spoke as she walked through the door, followed by Andy.

"Go on."

"He's not targeting the people he holds responsible," Andy expands. "He's targeting their kids."

When Sam relieved the commissioner, he jumped straight to the chase.

"What other kids are you targeting?"

The man was silent. Sam continued speaking to him, pulling at what was left of this man's twisted conscience, until he finally got the answer he was looking for.

He heard a distant rumble, and the lights flickered. Then the emergency alarms started going off. He quickly cuffed McDonald back to the table and walked into the hallway.

"What's going on?" he asked as Inspector Jarvis walked past him.

"I don't know. Let's evacuate the building."

Sam heard yelling from the second floor and ran up the stairs.

"What the hell happened?" He asked, then he saw the body on the floor.

"McNally!" he ran and turned the girl over to find that it wasn't Andy.

"I'm fine," she the officer told him.

"Have you seen McNally? Has anyone seen McNally?!" He demanded.

"Where's McNally?!" he screams at Oliver.

"I don't know."

"Tripp! Are you alright? Where's McNally?"

"She's in there!" Trip pointed to the massacre evidence room, and Sam felt his heart stop as he ran into the smoke filled room.

"McNally! Andy! McNally!" He screamed her name, over and over as he shoved shelves out of his way.

"McNally!"

And then he heard it.

"What?" She sounded like she did when he woke her up for work. Sam could feel his heartbeat returning, when he found her behind a shelving unit, slumped against the wall. He carefully grabbed her arm and helped her sit up.

"You're okay," he breathed.

"I can't really hear anything." Her voice was shaky, and she looked stunned.

"That's okay," he smiled. "Are you okay?" He had to hear her say it.

"Are you crying?" she asked, looking at his face more closely.

He was, he had started crying the second he saw the evidence room, and now it was pretty obvious, but he couldn't tell her that, at least not right now.

"No, I've got smoke in my eyes."

Andy stared at him, but wasn't buying it.

"You thought I was dead." She said it as a fact, not a question. She knew that was the only thing that would ever make Sam Swarek cry. Sam sat down on the floor, finally catching his breath, just happy that Andy was safe.

"Let's get you out of here." Sam reached for her, pulling her out from the shelving unit and partially carrying her into the hallway, where Oliver was still checking on people and shouting orders into the radio.

"McNally, are you okay?" he asked, watching as she clung to Sam.

"I'm fine."

The tone of her voice said differently, though. It sounded broken and scared, not that that was bad. She had just been in an explosion. She shouldn't be alive right now, but she was. It was okay to sound scared.

"Get her outside, have her looked at by a medic." Oliver told Sam, who nodded. He had never seen Sam look this scared, not even the last time Andy had almost died.

"I'm fine," Andy protested weakly, but Sam ignored her.

"You're getting checked out."

He sat on the tailgate of the ambulance with her while a medic checked her from top to bottom.

"Well Officer McNally, you seem to be invincible. You're gonna have some fantastic bruises, but other than that you're completely fine."

Sam let out a deep breath, finally sure that Andy was okay.

"I suggest that you take it easy the next day or two. You're gonna be pretty sore once all the adrenalin runs out. But you're good to go." The medic handed her two Advil and a water bottle.

Sam led her over to the side of the station, where other officers were gathering.

"I'm gonna go get you a coffee, okay?" he kissed her softly on lips, and watched her nod. "Don't move."

"I wasn't planning on it. That Adrenalin rush ran out about ten minutes ago."

Sam smiled and walked back into the station. He saw Traci walking outside, heading for Andy.

"My ears are still ringing," Andy complains as he hands her the coffee.

"It could have been worse," he says shakily, still not completely sure that she's okay.

"I know. I could have lost my face," she says nonchalantly, causing him to laugh nervously. The thought had definitely crossed his mind. It was less her face he was worried about than her entire head, but sure, face would work.

"I got to get back in there and talk to McDonald," he tells her, not really wanting to leave.

"It's okay. Go ahead."

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asks her for the millionth time.

"Ya, fine. Apparently I'm invincible. How many girlfriends have you had that could walk away from a bomb unscathed?"

Sam leans forward, placing a hand on either side of the wall, not wanting to hurt her, and pecks her on the lips.

"Three." He smirks and walks back inside, knowing that she's glaring at him. If she's going to play it off, then so will he, until they get home at least.

Andy smirked at Sam as he walked away, and then finally let out a deep breath, leaning forward and putting her hands on her knees. She couldn't let Sam see how freaked out she really was, at least not yet. He had work to do, and if he was worried about her any more than he was now, it wouldn't get done.

"Andy?" Oliver saw her and walked over, crouching down beside her. "Andy are you okay?" He placed a hand on her arm and she shook her head.

"I'm fine." She breathed out, obviously not fine.

"Andy, you're not fine. What's wrong? Do you want me to get Sam?"

"No, no I'm fine!" She waved Oliver aside, trying to stand back up, but he wasn't buying any of it.

"Andy it's okay not to be okay right now. You almost died, it's okay to need Sam."

"Sam needs to work right now. I'm fine."

"Andy-" Oliver starts again, but Andy pulls herself up to a standing position.

"I'm fine, Oliver. I promise."

"You know that I think of you as one of my daughters, Andy. I'm buying your crap about as much as I buy Izzy's crap about boys still having cooties."

Andy is about to argue with him, but somebody comes running out.

"Staff! Staff, they need you! It's McDonald."

Oliver looked between Andy and the door, then turned to her.

"We're not done here." He told her before running inside.

Andy followed him into the station a few minutes later, needing to be near Sam. She knew he was busy, but she couldn't stand being outside alone anymore. Her ears were still ringing and she was shaking, thinking that any minute another bomb would go off. When she walked inside she saw Sam sitting at his desk, looking angry.

"Hey," she walked over and sat down on the desk.

"Are you okay?" he asked, immediately standing up and checking her over.

"I'm fine, Sam. What's wrong?"

"McDonald killed himself while everyone was running around and dealing with the bomb."

"What do you mean he killed himself?"

"He slit his wrists. He must have hidden a razor."

"Or?"

"Or what?"

"Well you don't exactly sound convinced." Andy told him. Then it dawned on her. "You think somebody else did it."

Sam's silence was answer enough, and she lowered her voice.

"You think somebody snuck him a razor?"

"Possibly. Either that or they did it for him."

"Who?"

Sam looked around them, then shook his head.

"Later."


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Andy followed Sam around the station for the next three hours, waiting to go home. Oliver had sent her to get changed out of her uniform as soon as she came back inside, and now she was very well aware of the fact that she looked like a sad puppy. Sam knew it too, but he wasn't complaining. If anything he was happy that she was leaning on him, even if it was silently. When they finally got in the truck to go home, Andy stared out the window silently.

"How you doing?" Sam asked, taking her hand.

"I'm fine, Sam."

"No you're not."

Andy didn't want to have it out in the car, so she went back to staring at the window. Sam got the cue and just held her hand. They hadn't been staying at Andy's very much, so he headed straight for his house. When they pulled into the driveway, Andy got out of the car and stood by the door waiting for Sam to unlock the door.

"If you had taken the key this morning, you could have already been hiding." Sam pointed out, unlocking the door and holding it open for Andy. She nodded her thanks and then disappeared up the stairs to the bedroom while Sam grabbed a glass of water.

"Andy?" Sam walked into the bedroom and found her lying on the bed. "How's it going?"

"Fine."

"Andy, come on. We're home now, it's just us."

"I'm okay, Sam."

"You followed me around the station for three hours. Not that I'm complaining, but that isn't normal."

"Sam-"

"Andy, please. Talk to me."

Andy stared at Sam for a few minutes, then took a deep breath and turned into the pillow.

"I just needed to be close to you."

"See was that so hard?" Sam asked, leaning over and kissing her.

"Ow," she muttered.

"Seriously? You got blown up and walked away unscathed, and kissing hurts?"

"My ribs hurt."

"Oh, well I'm sorry," Sam lifted his hand and let it sit even lighter on her stomach.

"Does this hurt?" He kissed her jaw.

"Ow."

"Seriously?"

"My jaw hurts, seeing as I landed on it."

"What about this?" He kisses her nose.

"Ow," she smiles at him, pulling his lips back to hers.

"Well now you're just milking it," Sam mumbles, smiling against her lips and moving to her neck.

Andy pretended to fall asleep, waiting for Sam to actually fall asleep. She couldn't sleep, though. Every time she tried she saw the rubble in the air and smell the smoke, and she didn't want to see that again. So she jut curled into Sam and waited for morning. Although that didn't last very long, since Sam woke up again an hour later. His arm tightened around her waist as he rolled over.

"Why aren't you sleeping?" He mumbled into her hair.

Andy decided that if she pretended to still be asleep he would think she was, not that that had worked at any point in time before.

"Stop pretending to be asleep, McNally. What's wrong?"

"I just can't sleep."

"Because of the bomb?"

Andy nodded silently into his chest, and he sat up, bringing her with him.

"Talk to me."

"I don't know-" Andy started and then cut herself off. Looking around.

Sam watched her silently, not wanting to push her.

"I keep seeing the evidence room, and smelling all the smoke, and it's just getting to my head."

Sam was silent for a few minutes, thinking about what he could do to help. Then it came to him.

"I'm gonna tell you a story."

She looked up at him quizzically, but he just smiled at her.

"Do you remember the day you worked on the Benjamin Kelly case?"

Andy looked at the sheets in her hands, nodding.

"You were so upset, about a kid that you'd only known for a day. And then you asked me to come and do his Mom's plumbing. You cared so much. That was the day I knew I was in love with you."

"Why?" Andy asked.

"Because I had never seen a cop that knew what they were doing more than you. You're a cop because you want to help people, and you did. I don't know, I just knew."

"I like this story," Andy mumbled, putting her head on Sam's shoulder and closing her eyes. "How does it end?"

"You fall asleep, and in the morning you take the key that I gave you yesterday."

Andy smiled dreamily, and then her eyes flew open again. "I don't want to have anymore nightmares."

"I'll keep the nightmares away," Sam promised, kissing her softly on the lips.

"Okay," Andy whispered, already half asleep.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

When Andy woke the next morning, Sam was already out of bed and walking back in with coffee and his cellphone to his ear.

"She's fine, Tommy." He was saying.

"No she's not awake yet."

Andy raised an eyebrow and took the coffee cup he was holding out to her.

"I promise she will call you later, Tommy. But I really want to let her sleep right now."

Andy smiled at him as she sipped her coffee. She loved when Sam was protective.

"Okay. Bye." Sam hung up and turned to Andy. "Good morning, Wonder Woman." Andy smiled reaching up to kiss him.

"Good morning."

"How are you feeling?"

"A little sore, but other than that I'm good."

"Good. Your dad called. The explosion at the station was on the news, and he was worried that you were hurt."

"I thought he might call. Why did he call you?"

"He couldn't reach you, and he figured I would be more honest than you."

Andy started to protest, but Sam stopped her.

"Don't try and deny it. You sugar coat."

Andy huffed, but didn't try and argue with him. "I should probably call him back, then."

"You can wait a little while," Sam smiled as he took Andy's coffee cup away and started to kiss her. "First, I want to make sure that you really are okay."

Andy smiled and leaned back, giving Sam access to her neck.

"Ow," she whispered, a smile snaking across her lips.

Later that morning, once Sam was completely sure that Andy was okay, she sat down on the couch and called her dad.

"Andy! I saw the station on the news, and Sam said that you were in the explosion. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Andy promised. "I barely even got a scratch."

"Are you sure? You're not just trying to make me feel better?"

"I swear dad! I'm completely fine."

"Prove it." Tommy challenged.

"What?"

"Prove it. Let's have dinner."

"Really Dad? You know that you don't have to make up reasons like checking on my well-being to have dinner with me right?" Andy laughed. "You can just ask me to go to dinner with you."

"I could, but you might come up with an excuse. So, dinner tonight?"

"Yes, Dad. I'll see you at Flo's. 7?"

"All right, I'll see you tonight. I love you, Honey."

"I love you too, Dad." Andy hung up and went upstairs to get dressed.

"You forgot this yesterday," Sam smiled, coming up behind her and holding her key out again.

"Thank you." She smiled, taking the key and putting it on the dresser. "Aren't you supposed to be at work?" She called, pulling some clothes out of a drawer that she had taken over.

"I took the morning off to make sure that you're okay." Sam told her, walking back into the bedroom and grabbing his watch off the dresser.

"Sam!"

"I'm going to work now. Do you want to come in and help me for a while?"

"Is this like that whole pity sex for work thing again?"

"Yes, yes it is." Sam smiled and kissed her, heading towards the door.

"I'll come in for a little while. Do you have time for lunch, first?"

"We can definitely stop and get something on the way to the station."

They worked for hours, trying to figure out who had blown up the evidence room. And by the time Andy was leaving to meet her dad for dinner, they had gotten absolutely nowhere.

"I have to go meet my dad for dinner."

"Okay, have fun. Here, take the truck." Sam tossed her the keys as she was walking out.

"How are you going to get home?"

"I'll catch a ride with Oliver. He decided to pull a patrol night, so we'll both be finishing late."

"Okay. See you at home."

Once Andy was gone, Traci turned to him and grinned.

"When are you going to put a ring on that girl?"

"When I think she'll say yes." Sam told her, staring at his computer screen. Traci loud laugh made him look up, however.

"You really don't get it, do you Swarek?"

Sam quirked an eyebrow and Traci smiled softly at him.

"That girl would have married you every day since the day she jumped you in that alley. You just have to stop letting her second guess herself."

"I knew there was a reason Jerry kept you around." Sam told her, grabbing a file and walking back into the parade room.

When Andy got to the diner it was almost completely packed, but the waitress greeted her as an old friend and led her to a table near the back.

"Your dad called earlier today and told us you were coming, so I saved your regular table."

"Thanks," Andy smiled at her and ordered a glass of water while she waited.

She sat in the booth for close to twenty minutes, but Tommy never showed. She tried calling him a few times, but he didn't answer. Andy was getting worried. When thirty minutes had gone by, she threw some money on the table and headed out to the truck, having decided to drive to Tommy's house and see what was going on. _Please don't let him be drinking again, _she thought to herself as she drove. Tommy and Claire had been talking and fighting again, and she knew it was hard. But dear God please don't let him be passed out with a bottle of whiskey again.

She had just turned off of College onto Bay when she saw the flashing lights. As she got closer, she realized that the cars were from Fifteen. And then she saw the car.

It was the same make.

The same model.

And then she saw the licence plate.

Andy slammed on the brakes and jerked the car to the side of the road right beside the sight. She saw an officer start to walk out and tell her that she had to move, but she jumped out of the car and ran forward, pulling out her badge as she went.

"Andy!" Oliver called to her, but she ignored him. She had to get to the car.

"ANDY!" he called even louder.

She kept walking.

And then an arm grabbed her.

"Get off me!" she growled, pulling away. She shrugged off the first officer. And then Chris grabbed her.

"Andy, stop. Andy!"

She pulled against him, fighting as hard as she could.

"DAD!" She screamed, and made a break for the car. She could see the fire fighters gathered around, and the paramedics standing nearby. She could see smoke coming from the car, and out of the corner of her eye she saw an officer pulling another man out of a car that was far less battered than her fathers. She was almost at the car when Oliver jumped in front of her and grabbed her.

"Andy stop! Listen to me!"

"Let go of me!" Andy cried, trying to pull away from him, but unlike everybody else Oliver held her tight.

"Andy listen to me! Stop fighting me."

"GET OFF OF ME! DAD!"

"Andy I swear to God I will have a paramedic sedate you if you don't calm down!"

"I have to get to my Dad!"

"Andy, you have to let them do their job. You have to let the paramedics take care of him."

Andy didn't stop struggling.

"Andy!" Oliver dragged her away from the scene and back to a squad car.

"Oliver let go of me!" Andy screamed.

"Andrea McNally so help me God! Shut up!" And she did. "Okay. Now that you're not screaming bloody murder, I need you to listen to me."

"What the hell happened?" She demanded, breathing heavily.

"We're not completely sure yet. But we know that the other driver was drunk. They're going to get your Dad out of the car and to the hospital. Now you're going to sit here and calm down while I call Sammy and get him down here." Oliver opened the door to the car and ushered Andy inside. "Diaz! Stay here and don't let McNally out of the car." Chris nodded and leaned against the car beside the passenger door.

"He'll be okay, Andy." Chris tried to comfort her, but she wasn't in the mood to be comforted at that moment. She was just watching the fire fighters pulling out the jaws of life and cut away her father's door. As soon as her father was on the gurney she jumped up.

"Andy!" Chris called after her, but she ignored him.

"Andy, Oliver told you to stay."

"I'm going to the hospital with my Dad!" Andy yelled, making a break for the ambulance.

"Ma'am you need to step back. This is a contained scene." The paramedic tried to push past her, but Andy stood her ground.

"He's my father!" She told her, pushing towards the gurney.

"Dad! Dad, I'm right here." She took his hand, walking beside the gurney to the ambulance.

"You need to move out of the way."

"I'm going with him," Andy told him, climbing into the ambulance. They loaded Tommy in after her, and she quickly took his hand again. She saw Sam and Traci pull up as the ambulance doors shut.

"ANDY!" Sam called out to her, as he ran towards the ambulance. She looked up and met his eyes before turning back to her dad.

"I'm right here, Daddy. I'm right here."


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Tommy crashed twice on the way to the hospital, and both times they brought him back and threatened to sedate Andy.

"Talk to him, try to keep him conscious," one of the medics finally offered.

Andy didn't know what to say, but she figured anything would work.

"Hi Daddy. It's me, it's Andy. I'm here. Everything is going to be okay, don't worry. They're taking you to the hospital, and they're going to fix you and everything is going to be fine." She knew she sounded like a child, but she didn't care. This was the best she could do right now.

"I love you Daddy, okay? Just remember that. I love you and Sam loves you and we're going to be there when you wake up and help you get better and everything is going to be okay."

His vitals started dropping again.

"Dad! Dad, stay with me. Please. Please don't leave me-" her voice broke and the paramedic pushed her away from him, pulling out the paddles again.

"CLEAR!"

She put her hands up to show that she wasn't touching anything and let the tears come.

"Dad!" she called to him. "Daddy, please stay with me. We're almost there, I swear."

"We've got him," the medic spoke into the radio, updating the hospital.

When they pulled up to the hospital, the doors flew open and they were met by a team of nurses and a doctor.

"They've cleared OR 3 for him," the nurse was yelling.

"Let's move!"

The gurney was lifted out, but Andy didn't let go of her father's hand.

"Miss you need to give us space-"

"I'm not leaving him!" she snapped.

She was running beside the gurney holding onto her father's hand and asking the doctor what they were doing.

"Miss, you need to give us space, you can't come into OR," a nurse was explaining.

"MCNALLY!" Sam's voice cut through the hospital, and she saw him running over to her.

"I'm NOT leaving him!" Andy was crying again, and practically screaming at the nurse.

"Miss you have to let go of him." Two nurses reached over and tried to pull her off, but she pulled away from them, fighting them off.

"We have to take him to the operating room!"

"I'm not leaving him!"

"Andy!" Sam was suddenly at her side. "Andy you need to let them work."

"No, I'm not leaving him!" she tried to pull away from Sam, but he was far stronger than the nurses.

"We need to get this man into an operating room. Miss, you have to let go."

"He's my father!"

"McNally, you have to let them help." Sam told her, grabbing her around the waist and pulling.

"Get off me, Sam!" she screamed, fighting against him, but again he held tight. The second he got her off the gurney, the doctor and nurse shot the gurney into an elevator and out of Andy's reach but she continued to fight against Sam, sobbing hysterically.

"Let me go! Let me go!"

"Andy, calm down. It's all going to be okay. Andy listen to me."

"I have to help him!"

"Andy the doctors are going to help him, but you have to calm down and let them work." She was still struggling, but he grabbed her arms and waist and pulled her out of the corridor and towards a waiting room.

"Let me go! I have to get to my Dad!"

She was getting more and more hysterical the farther they got from the E.R.

"Andy if you don't stop I'm going to let a nurse sedate you!"

She stopped yelling for just a second, but it was enough for him to pull her into the waiting room and sit her down in a chair.

"Andy, are you listening to me?"

She nodded, staring past him.

"Andy, the doctors are going to take care of your dad, and it's all going to be okay. But you need to let them work, okay?"

Andy's body shook with sobs, and Sam pulled her into a hug

"It's gonna be okay." he soothed, but she shook her head against his shoulder.

"It's my fault!" she sobbed. "It's all my fault!"

"What are you talking about? Andy this is not your fault!" Sam pushed her away and took her head in his hands. "Andy, look at me. This is not your fault."

"He was coming to have dinner with me! If I hadn't been in that explosion yesterday he wouldn't have insisted on having dinner with me, and-"

"Andy you cannot blame yourself for this! This is not your fault. Andy!"

She finally looked him in the eyes.

"This is not your fault."

She stared at him for another few seconds, and then nodded slowly.

"Do you want to get some coffee? We'll probably be here for a while."

"Okay," she conceded and took the hand he was holding out.

"It's going to be okay." Sam reassured her again, putting an arm around her shoulder and kissing the top of her head.

Andy just hoped that he was right.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Sam and Andy sat in the waiting room for three hours before somebody came and spoke to them. In that time Andy didn't stop moving, despite Sam's many attempts to contain her.

"Thomas McNally's family?" a nurse finally called from the O.R doorway.

Andy jumped to her feet, followed closely by Sam, and approached the woman.

"I'm his daughter, Andy. Is he okay?"

"He lost a lot of blood at the scene, and there was a lot of damage to the spinal cord and neck. The doctors have repaired as much as they could for the time being, but it's really too close to tell right now."

Andy stared at the woman in front of her unmoving. It was Sam who stepped forward, took her hand and asked, "Can we see him?"

"He's being transferred to ICU, and then you'll be able to see him for a little while. A nurse will come down and get you as soon as he's set up."

Andy nodded slowly, and followed Sam back to their seats to wait for another nurse.

"He's alive," Sam assured her. "That's all that matters right now. Now we just focus on getting him better."

"Do you think he's going to make it?" Andy asked quietly.

"I think that if there's anybody in the world that might, it's him. He's too stubborn to die."

Andy gave him a small smile, but shook her head.

"I just hope you're right."

A few minutes later, the nurse emerged again and told Andy that she could see him.

"I'm sorry, only family is allowed in the ICU." She held out a hand to stop Sam from following.

"He's my husband." Andy said quickly, taking Sam's hand and pulling him past the nurse. This was NOT something she wanted to face alone. When she walked into the room, Andy stopped short. It was terrifying to see her father lying there. She had seen him in the hospital before, a couple times when he had been hurt at work, but then he had always been sitting up in an exam room, smiling and ready to go. This was nothing like that. He was still unconscious, and hooked up something like ten machines. Andy couldn't name half of them, but she knew a ventilator when she saw one. She had a sudden memory of Luke, lying in a hospital bed in the same hospital a few years before, hooked up to the same machines. She felt Sam behind her, and reached for his hand again. He gave it an encouraging squeeze and pushed lightly on her tailbone. She took the last few steps and stood by her father's bed, taking his hand.

"Hi, Daddy." She whispered. "It's Andy. Sam's here too."

"Hey, Tommy." Sam piped up, staying a couple feet back from the bed.

"You're gonna be okay, Dad. You hear me? You're going to be perfectly okay, and when you get better, we're going to have our dinner and I'll tell you all about how I'm invincible and can walk away from explosions without a single scratch."

"Just lots of bruises." Sam told him.

Andy started to laugh, but it broke into a sob. Sam moved closer to her, putting a hand on her arm.

"You need to be okay, dad. Please. You have to be!" Her voice shook and tears covered her face. "Please, Daddy."

Her knees started to give out and Sam grabbed her, lowering her into a chair. He knelt in front of her and took her hands.

"Andy. Andy, look at me." He put a hand to her face, stroking her cheek, until she looked up at him. "You've gotta be strong for him right now, okay?"

She gave a small nod and took a few deep breaths, wiping her eyes. She took her father's hand again, and Sam pulled up another chair. They sat silently for close to an hour before Andy fell asleep, her head on the bed, still holding his hand. A nurse came in every hour or so to check his vitals.

As she slept, Sam stayed awake, keeping a close eye on her as well as her dad. Sam had always looked the way she looked when she was asleep. She was so peaceful, like she didn't have a care in the world. He reached out and brushed some hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. He just wished that there was something he could do to help her, to make this easier. He wished that he could take all her pain and worry away. But he couldn't. So instead, he took her hand and promised to do everything else he could to help her. No matter what.

**A/N: I know this is short, but I figured you guys deserved at least a little bit. I'm hoping to have a regular sized chapter out sometime tonight.**


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Andy woke up to loud beeping and alarm bells. She jumped to her feet, still holding her father's hand.

"What's happening?" She demanded. Sam pulled her out of the way as two nurses ran in.

"What's going on?" She asked again, her voice shaking.

The nurses ignored her, instead they spoke to each other. Andy only caught a few words, but she didn't like the ones she heard.

"His heart rate it spiking. Call a crash cart. Somebody page Dr. Carter!" The nurse called down the hallway.

Andy grabbed Sam's hand in terror.

"It'll be okay." Sam told her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders tightly. He pulled her out of the way again as a doctor and another nurse came running in with the cart.

"Charge to 200."

"Clear!" the nurse called, everyone stepped back from the bed.

His body jumped from the bed, and came back down with a thud.

"Again."

"Clear!"

A nurse came rushing over to Sam and Andy and tried to remove them, but Andy was standing her ground.

"No, I'm not leaving. Tell me what's going on!"

"Ms. McNally-" The nurse was cut off by the sound of a flat line, ringing through the room.

"Calling it." The doctor spoke quietly, trying not to let Andy and Sam hear. "3:52 AM, Wednesday July 17th."

"No." Andy wrenched herself out of Sam's grip and ran to her father's side. "Dad! Wake up! Daddy please! No!" A nurse tried to pull her away, but Andy shrugged her off. "Don't touch me!" She snarled.

Sam walked towards her, stopping short. "McNally, he's gone." He told her softly, crouching down beside her.

"No." She shook her head. "No, he can't be. He can't leave me. He can't!" The last word was a whisper. She sat perfectly still, staring at her father's body, silent tears running down her face.

"Andy." Sam took a step towards her, but she didn't move. Didn't look away from the still form in front of her.

"McNally?" He said her name again, but she didn't move.

He could see the nurse standing to one side, waiting for them to move so she could get rid of the body, but he wasn't about to hurry her.

Andy sat, not moving for a full ten minutes, then leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her father's forehead.

"I love you, daddy." She whispered, then turned to Sam. He held his hand out and she took it, following him out into the hallway. They made it to the elevator before she really broke down. She gasped for air, letting out a sob and leaning against the wall, holding her head in her hands. Sam stood beside her, patting her on the shoulder. He knew that he looked pretty lame, but it was all he could do. Nothing that he could say was going to make her feel better at this moment, she just needed to let it out. She let out a muffled scream, and sank to the floor, her head on her knees and her hands in her hair. Sam knelt in front of her and reached for her hands.

"McNally?" He spoke softly. "Andy, I'm gonna take you home now, okay?"

She looked up at him and gave a small nod.

"Okay." Sam took her hands and pulled her up, letting her lean on him as they got into to elevator.

"When I was little, he used to take me out for ice cream every Saturday night." Andy spoke quietly, staring out the window as they drove.

"And then, after my mom left, he started doing it every night. I knew what he was doing, trying to make me feel better. Every Saturday until I turned 18 and told him that I was too old for ice cream. He still brought home ice cream every weekend until I moved out."

"I recall you telling me that there's never a bad time for ice cream."

"There isn't." Andy agreed. "It's weird, the things you remember, you know? I can't even remember the last time we had a real conversation, but I remember the time he threatened to have my 8th grade English teacher fired for giving me a bad grade. And the time we went camping when I was 14 and he locked the keys in the car, and we spent 12 hours waiting for the tow truck to come find us." They pulled into the driveway and Sam parked the car, turning to face her.

"He was all I had, Sam. It was me and him, for so long. What am I supposed to do without him?" She asked, tears gathering in her eyes again.

"Right now, you're going to come inside and try to get some sleep. And then, you're going to take it one day at a time." Sam told her.

"I don't want to be alone."

"You're not alone. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere. Okay?"

Andy didn't respond.

"McNally? Okay?" Sam squeezed her hand.

"Ya, okay." Andy nodded. She unbuckled her seat belt and climbed out of the car, Sam following close behind her.

Sam led her into the bedroom and pulled a tank top and shorts from one of her drawers, handing them to her. "Come on, get changed and try to get some sleep. Okay?"

Andy took the clothes from him and changed, then crawled into bed. Her head had barely hit the pillow before she was asleep. He knew the hospital would have already informed the department that he was dead, but he called anyways and left a message for Frank telling him that he and Andy wouldn't be in for the next few days. After that he sent a text to Traci, figuring that Andy would want her best friend around at some point. There was close to fifty messages on his phone from Oliver and all Andy's other friends. He couldn't imagine how many were on her phone. He finally got to bed around 4:30.

When Andy woke up at 9 the next morning, she almost forgot what had happened. She had a vague recollection of sadness, but it didn't click right away. And then it hit her like a ton of bricks. Her dad had died last night. She didn't cry, though she was sure that wouldn't stick, instead she lay perfectly still and let the waves of sadness wash over her. After a few minutes she got up, careful not to wake Sam, and went down to the kitchen. She found her purse and grabbed her phone, checking her messages as she made a pot of coffee. There was 150 texts waiting for her, and 10 voice mails- all of which from Traci, telling her to call as soon as she had a chance. She didn't want to call her just yet, though. She wasn't ready for the question she was bound to get: "Are you okay?" It was a question that she had been asked a million times, and each time she had assured the person asking that she was fine. This time, however, that was not the case and nobody would believe her if she tried to play it off that way. Sam appeared in the doorway as she watched the coffee brew and read through her text messages.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. Go back to sleep."

"I'm fine." Sam assured her. "How are you feeling?"

"I don't know," Andy admitted, pouring coffee for herself and Sam before sitting down across from him at the table.

"I keep thinking that I should be too sad or angry to even function, but I just don't know what I'm feeling. I don't know what I'm doing. It's like I'm on autopilot and I'm just going through the motions. It's in the back of my mind, I can't stop thinking about it, but I can't react to it either." Andy shook her head in aggravation. "I just don't know."

"You don't have to. You cope the way you cope. There's nothing to tell you if you're doing it the right way or the wrong way." Sam promised her.

"When Jerry died, Traci just sat in bed. I was so worried about her. She wouldn't eat, and she couldn't sleep. And you, you were so angry. You avoided me and everyone else and you didn't want to talk about anything and I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to help you." Andy shook her head, trying to form coherent thoughts. Sam didn't interrupt her, he knew that this was how she dealt with things. Andy needed to talk, it's what she did, it was how she dealt with things. Sam drank his coffee and watched her, waiting for her to start talking again.

"You know the worst part? I was ready for this my whole life. I woke up every morning and told myself that there was a chance he wouldn't come home today, and I was ready for that phone call. I was ready for the officer to show up at my door and tell me that he wasn't coming home, from the day my mother left. And then, when I got older and he retired I was still ready. Everyday, I was ready for the call. That he had gotten into a car accident because he was drunk, or that he got into a fight and was killed. I spent the last twenty years, ready for my dad to die. But now?" She stopped and took a shaky breath. "He was clean, Sam. He was doing good. I wasn't ready, Sam." She started to cry again, and Sam moved his chair over to her. She put her head on his shoulder, still cradling her coffee mug.

"This is why I don't let my guard down. Because when you do, life comes up and it beats the crap out of you, and rips your heart out. I should have been prepared. I shouldn't have let myself think that it was safe to think that he was going to come home again. I should never have let my guard down."

"Andy, there was no way to prepare yourself for this. It was a fluke accident." Sam tried to console her, but she shook her head.

"Just because it was an accident, didn't mean I couldn't prepare myself. I should have known that it couldn't be this easy. I finally have a good relationship, we're good. You and me, we're really good and work is finally good. Dad was clean and I was happy. I even had Claire, as little as that really matters, she was here. I was happy. I should have known that it couldn't be this good."

She kept crying, and Sam took the mug from her hand, setting it down on the table and pulling her into his lap.

"Andy, you can't convince yourself that this happened because you were happy. That's not how the world works. Sometimes these things just happen, and it sucks, but it's nobody's fault but the guy who got behind the wheel drunk."

"I know that. I really do, in the rational part of my mind I know that, but that doesn't mean I believe it, as much as I want to. I just need a reason. I need something to blame." She stopped talking again and looked up at him. "I need to go to work."

"Andy-"

"No, Sam. I need to go and talk to Oliver and find out who the driver was. I need to do something. I need to know what happened. Sam, please." Andy pleaded.

"Okay." Sam relented. "We'll go whenever you're ready."


End file.
